If you are a fan of the Midway Monsters and have a little concern that your team can be a player again in the NFC North after Saturday's lackluster effort in the preseason opener, now you have the reason you need to start feeling confident again.

In a move that should surprise absolutely no one by now, Brett Favre signed Tuesday with the Vikings and participated in his first practice at the team's facility in Minnesota, despite the fact that he's retired more times than the Rolling Stones have said this is their final tour. It's no coincidence Favre put his John Hancock on a contract when he did, as the Vikes are now done with training camp and already have one preseason game under their collective belt. Despite the fact that the front office traded a fourth-round draft pick for Sage Rosenfels in the offseason, the same Sage Rosenfels who looked quite effective in Minny's exhibition opener against the Colts, coach Brad Childress has already anointed Favre the starter for Friday's preseason tilt with the Chiefs.

Yes, Favre used to destroy the Bears – back when Bill Clinton was in office. But the last six times a Lovie Smith-led squad faced No. 4, Chicago is 5-1. And that one win was the infamous New Year's Eve game back in 2006, when the Monsters of the Midway had already wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the NFC and Rex Grossman was too busy stuffing his fridge with champagne to study his playbook.

In my honest opinion, and this has nothing to do with the fact that I'm sick and tired of Favre-a-Palooza already, I believe the Vikings would have been a better team with Rosenfels under center. With that running game at their disposal and that defense lending its full support, Minnesota just needs somebody to hand the ball off 25 times to Adrian Peterson, hit Bernard Berrian with the occasional play-action pass and keep turnovers to a minimum. He may be a career backup in the NFL, but Rosenfels was capable of doing that.

Favre, on the other hand, wants to take over the game, sling it all over the field and prove to everyone that he's still got it – just ask former Jets coach Eric Mangini.

Bears fans, this is the best news you've heard all week. Instead of Peterson running your defense into oblivion, now you can sit back and wait for Favre to throw one up for grabs. In his last six games versus Chicago, Favre has thrown just two TD passes against 13 interceptions – three of them have been returned for touchdowns. The future Hall of Famer says he can run Minnesota's offense in his sleep since it's the same system he ran with the Packers, the same system that saw him average 20 INTs his last five years in Green Bay. While Jay Cutler may have looked bad with that off-his-back-foot-and-into-double-coverage pick in Buffalo, it doesn't seem so bad compared to some of the indefensible decisions Favre has repeatedly made at home, on national television and in the playoffs.

Sure, Favre is a Super Bowl champion, and with that comes a great deal of credibility, but remember he won that Vince Lombardi Trophy back when gas was still $1.22 a gallon, Jerry Maguire was still in theaters and Notorious B.I.G. was still alive.